Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2026
- Class:
- 1991
Steve Rammel led the Rutgers men’s soccer team to back-to-back Final Fours in 1989 and 1990 as the Scarlet Knights accumulated a 40-7-2 record with him in the lineup.
As a senior, Rammel earned All-America honors as he led the Scarlet Knights to the championship game in a contest that came down to penalty kicks. A runner-up for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top college soccer player in America, and the 1990 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, he recorded 17 goals in each of his two years at Rutgers after transferring from Connecticut.
In the record book, Rammel is currently the Scarlet Knights’ ninth-ranked all-time scorer with 84 career points.
Following his Scarlet Knight career, Rammel was invited to the U.S national team camp and played with the B-team in the 1991 World University Games in Sheffield, England. The same year, he became a member of the US National Team and played seven games with Penn-Jersey Spirit of the American Professional Soccer League.
From 1991-1993, Rammel played for German lower-division clubs SC Norderstedt and Tus Celle before returning stateside to earn a master’s degree in finance while serving as an assistant coach with UMass.
In 1996, Rammel joined the Washington Mustangs of the USISL and was acquired on loan to D.C. United of the MLS. With the United, he became a 1996 All-Star, scoring 17 goals, including the first MLS hat trick in a May 15, 1996 victory over the Columbus Crew. In addition, he helped the team win the 1996 MLS Cup and US Open Cup Championships. Rammel also spent time on the rosters of the Colorado Rapids and NJ/NY MetroStars before retiring in 1999.
Rammel continued his coaching career following his professional career, including serving as the top assistant at UCLA and helping the Bruins to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a College Cup appearance in 1999. He also spent five seasons as the head coach at Saint Mary’s, coaching 20 players to All-West Coast Conference Honors and was an assistant coach in the MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Rammel stayed involved behind the scenes, as he served as the Executive Director of Orlando City Youth (2012-15), Executive Director of the West Florida Flames Futbol Club (2015-16) and Santa Rose United (2007-08).
A native of West Deptford, New Jersey, where he was a Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year and Philly Inquirer South Jersey Athlete of the Year with an 81-10-5 record and two state championships behind 90 goals, Rammel graduated from Rutgers in 1991 with a degree in economics.
